“He's still standing,” Hinz says. “Wobbly for sure, and in danger of keeling over at any time. But still on his feet, kind of.”

Sorry, Republicans who are calling for their nominee to drop out.

He's yours for at least another 29 days.

Out of the mouths of Abes

Clinton won the second debate with a performance that was “steady, knowledgeable and pleasant—even in the face of some very personal attacks,” writes Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post.

The Democratic nominee went into the debate with momentum and didn't make any glaring errors. Trump performed better than in the first debate but did little to broaden his appeal. He likely boosted the spirits of his core followers, but that base of support isn't large enough to win the election.

In a debate filled with hostility, there were few moments of humor, according to a transcript:

Anderson Cooper, a moderator: Secretary Clinton, does Mr. Trump have the discipline to be a good leader?

Clinton: No.

Trump: I'm shocked to hear that.

Washing your hands of the election?

Catholic Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield said voters may “legitimately conclude in conscience that they cannot vote for either” Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, according to the Oct. 2 edition of the Springfield diocesan newspaper, the State Journal-Register reports.

The letter, published online as a video, is less inflammatory that the Chicago native's 2012 pre-election letter, which earned him national attention by saying portions of the Democratic platform “explicitly endorse intrinsic evils.”

Is the latest letter going depress the turnout of the monastic vote, bishop?

A spouse divided

Ald. Danny Solis, 25th, supports the mayor's position in negotiations with the Chicago Teachers Union, while his wife, a teacher, has voted for a strike scheduled to start tomorrow unless a deal is reached, the Tribune reports.

“I don't think he's (Emanuel) thinking about himself politically or how it hampers him,” Solis said. “I think he is genuinely concerned about the well-being of the kids in our city.”

Do you remember what it takes to have a happy life, Danny?

Mayor plans his own baggage fee

In his 2017 budget, Mayor Rahm Emanuel is going to propose a new 7-cents-a-bag tax on shoppers, part of $30 million in "targeted" taxes fines and fees, he says in a Q&A with the Chicago Sun-Times.

Targeted to taxpayers' wallets?

The mayor also said he is going to renew his push in Springfield for a Chicago casino. Is that just one “Turnaround Agenda” away from passage?

On his proposal to hire 970 more police officers, according to the mayor he asked police Superintendent Eddie Johnson: “What is it you need?”

“We even went beyond what he asked for,” Emanuel said.

Eddie, did you low-ball the ask?

Is that what they mean by direct deposit?

Ald. Willie Cochran, 20th, has belatedly updated his campaign records to show that he paid himself more than $115,000 out of his election fund over a three-year period, the Sun-Times reports,

Paying yourself out of your campaign fund isn't illegal, but the money has to be reported to the Internal Revenue Service.

If you don't, it's a good way to get “former” in front of your title, like former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and former Cook County Commissioner William Beavers, who were convicted on federal tax charges.

The South Side alderman did not respond to requests for comment. There's no indication that Cochran, who's had a few financial setbacks, didn't report the income or that he is under any investigation.

But what are the chances his tax accounting is any better than his campaign recordkeeping?

Who'd hire this collection agency?

Illinois recovered just 37 percent, or $264 million, of $714 million in overpayments on unemployment benefits from 2012 to 2016, the lowest percentage in the nation, the Associated Press reports.

The national average is 66 percent. The Illinois Department of Employment Security is now updating its collection procedures.

But cuts in federal spending are partly responsible, which left the Quinn administration struggling to maintain the program, said Jeffrey Mays, appointed by Gov. Bruce Rauner as director of the state department.

Did somebody forget to send Mays the memo to blame former Gov. Pat Quinn at each and every opportunity?

What're those jobs worth to you, governor?

The Rauner administration says it is more selectively using subsidies to attract jobs to the state than the Quinn administration did, Greg Hinz reports.

During his first 21 months, Rauner has awarded Edge payroll tax credits worth an average of $15,338 per new position, well below the $69,372 average during five years under Quinn.

Or is it?

When Quinn was governor, the state income tax rate was 5 percent, which boosts the value of those deals. Under Rauner, the income tax rate has fallen to 3.75 percent, reducing the value of his subsidy deals. Factoring out that difference, the averages for the two administrations is fairly similar, a former Quinn official says.

Like the state's growing pile of unpaid bills, this is another area where the lower tax rate doesn't make you look better, Bruce.

Can we pick up politicians by their ears?

A harsh new TV ad tries to tie Rep. John Bradley, D-Marion, to former Rep. Keith Farnham, D-Elgin, who was sentenced to prison last year on child pornography charges, Rich Miller of Capitol Fax writes.

Republicans say it's payback for all the sex offender-related ads that House Democrats have used against Republicans, including this year. Such vicious attacks are reminiscent of a favorite story of Lyndon Johnson's about a Texas sheriff running for re-election. (By some accounts, it is about Johnson himself.)

The sheriff wanted to spread the rumor that his opponent had sex with pigs. (Johnson characteristically used a more colorful phase.)

When someone objected that the allegation wasn't true, the sheriff said: “I know, but let's make the sonofabitch deny it.”

When news broke about Clinton's private email sever, a State Department spokeswoman said there's a “swirl of crap out there.” But the spokeswoman sure wasn't talking about On Politics, our morning briefing on the top stories in government.